Document proportional allocation system

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods may be used to create and modify a co-marketed document. A system and method may include using a template with designated editable regions for each co-marketer, wherein each co-marketer may not edit regions designated for the other co-marketer. The system and method may include selecting regions of the co-marketed document for each co-marketer to determine the percentage of space each co-marketer utilizes on a co-marketed document. The system and method may include providing mechanisms for the determined percentage of space to be verified, approved, and transmitted to a printing service.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/654,229, filed on Jul. 19, 2017, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to desktop publishing andspecifically to controlled editing of a document and calculatingdocument markup proportions.

BACKGROUND

Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (“RESPA”) andits implementing Regulation X (collectively, “RESPA Section 8,”) aperson is prohibited from giving or accepting “any fee, kickback, orthing of value pursuant to any agreement or understanding, oral orotherwise, that business incident to or a part of a real estatesettlement service involving a federally related mortgage loan shall bereferred to any person.” (12 U.S.C. § 2607(a)).

RESPA does not prohibit referrals in real estate settlement services,but when a referral is made in connection with any form of compensationor thing of value, the exchange implicates RESPA Section 8. In addition,RESPA Section 8 permits “normal promotional activities that are notconditioned on the referral of business and do not involve the defrayingof expenses that otherwise would be incurred by persons in a position torefer settlement services or business.” (12 C.F.R. § 1024.14(g)(vi)).

Real estate agents, mortgage loan officers, escrow agents, etc., tend towork together regularly and often refer clients to one another; thus, itmay become difficult for companies to defend the position that suchclients were not referred in exchange for a “thing of value” in caseswhere one party has defrayed expenses for another. A common exampleoccurs when a mortgage loan officer and real estate agent market theirservices together, but the loan officer pays more than the loanofficer's fair share of costs or otherwise covers costs that wouldnormally be incurred by the agent. Regardless of the intent of the loanofficer, a RESPA regulator could view this as a disguised attempt to payfor referrals and a potential RESPA Section 8 violation could result.

These issues are compounded by the fact that the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau (“CFPB”), which has authority over RESPA, has taken anaggressive position on marketing under RESPA in the context of marketingservices agreements (“MSAs”) and appears to be scrutinizing all types ofbusiness arrangements that may appear to involve referrals or otherwiseimplicate RESPA Section 8. As a result, mortgage companies, real estatecompanies, title companies (and others that are incident to or part ofreal estate settlement services regarding federally related mortgageloans) have become increasingly focused on ensuring that theirco-marketing activities do not expose them to potential RESPA Section 8violations.

Although all parties involved are subject to the regulations and therisks involved with engaging in activities that fall under the scrutinyof the CFBP, mortgage companies tend to be the most scrutinized in thisregard and, therefore, tend to be very focused on ensuring compliance.Risk and Compliance policies and acceptable practices vary from mortgagecompany-to-mortgage company, with regard to how much documentation andproof of compliance is required from employees involved in co-marketingactivities, but all may benefit from a sound methodology and arepeatable process for ensuring compliance with RESPA Section 8 andmitigating the risk of such violations. The need for such policies andpractices becomes even more apparent in the event a mortgage companyfaces an audit or investigation by the CFPB.

Prior attempts by co-marketers, such as real estate agents and mortgagelenders, to divide expenses appropriately have been done with roughestimates and “eyeballing” the allocated space on joint co-marketeddocuments. This lacks the precision needed for compliance and ispotentially illegal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation inthe figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an example of a co-marketed real estate advertisement,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example user interface including a markup editorfor selecting regions of a document corresponding to a plurality ofco-marketers, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a user beginning the mark-up process by selecting tomark-up the area(s) of a document corresponding to a first co-marketertype, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a user marking-up the area(s) of a documentcorresponding to a first selected co-marketer type, according to anembodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a user continuing the mark-up process by selecting tomark-up the area(s) of a co-marketed document corresponding to a secondco-marketer type, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a user marking-up the area(s) of a documentcorresponding to a second selected co-marketer type, according to anembodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a user selecting a control to direct the system tocalculate the pro rata document share for each co-marketer type of theco-marketed document, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates a user selecting a control to direct the system savethe mark-up permanently, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example co-marketed document that is overlaid withan example virtual grid, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates toggling between selected and unselected states of asquare of a virtual grid, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example virtual grid that is overlaid on aco-marketed document, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of calculating the pro rata shares of aco-marketed document for each of two co-marketer types, according to anembodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for determining pro ratashares of a co-marketed document, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a print job summary for a particularprint job of a co-marketed document, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a job payment receipt for a particularprint job of a co-marketed document, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example user interface including an audit viewer,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating various components of a documentsystem, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example user interface including a documenteditor for editing a document corresponding to a plurality ofco-marketers, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for editing aco-marketed document, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a machine, uponwhich any one or more example embodiments may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure describes methods, systems, and computer programproducts that individually provide employees of mortgagecompanies/lenders, real estate companies, title companies, builders, andother related companies, with a solution for generating RESPA Section 8compliant co-marketing materials, creating operational efficiencies, andreducing RESPA Section 8 compliance risks.

Two examples of common co-marketing practices that put mortgagecompanies (and other companies involved in such practices) at risk forRESPA Section 8 violations and/or enforcement actions are as follows:

1) A mortgage company enters into an agreement with another company,such as a real estate brokerage, under which the brokerage agrees toperform certain marketing services for the mortgage company, such asincluding the lender's branding and messages on a portion of thebrokerage's direct mail campaigns, on property flyers, websites, email,etc., on a monthly basis for a flat fee. This type of arrangement isknown as a “marketing services agreement” or “MSA”.

In an MSA, the mortgage company ensures that the amount the mortgagecompany pays to the real estate broker for the monthly marketingservices the real estate broker performs is commensurate with the fairmarket value for similar services and that the services are actuallyperformed by the real estate broker. If the mortgage company overpaysfor the services performed, or pays for services that are not performedat all, both parties are at risk of potential RESPA Section 8 violationsand enforcement actions.

Methods exist for determining fair market value for services, but manymortgage companies still struggle with obtaining documentation and prooffrom all of their MSA providers that the marketing services wereactually performed. Many mortgage companies use a “checklist” or a“certification” in place of actual proof or documentation of marketingservices performed; however, due to the CFPB's scrutiny over these typesof arrangements, risk and compliance departments of mortgage companiesare starting to require more concrete evidence than checklists orcertifications.

2) A lender/loan officer and a real estate broker/realtor agree toco-market their services together on a co-marketed advertisement, suchas a direct mail postcard. In this case, the lender/loan officer and thereal estate broker/realtor are each required to pay for their fair shareof the co-marketed advertisement and neither may defray expenses for theother. Generally, to comply with RESPA Section 8, the percentage of thetotal costs paid by each party for the co-marketed advertisement isequal to the amount of branding/messaging space each party occupies onthe co-marketed advertisement.

For example, if the broker/realtor's branding/messaging appears on 95%of the postcard and the lender/loan officer's branding/messaging appearson 5% of the postcard, the broker/realtor pays 95% of the cost of thepostcard and the lender/loan officer pays 5% of the cost of thepostcard. There is a common misconception among loan officers and realestate agents that, as long as the parties split the cost equally, thereis no risk of violation; in reality, the parties each pay their pro ratashare of the total expenses (whether 50%/50%, 65%/35%, 95%/5%, etc.) Ifone party pays more than that party's pro rata share, a RESPA regulatormay later view this as a disguised attempt to pay for referrals from theother party, and a potential RESPA Section 8 violation could result.

Most mortgage companies have some general policies or rules regardingthe management of co-marketing and RESPA Section 8 compliance, but theresponsibility to approve, record, and document compliance may fall onany combination of the loan officer, the marketing department, thecompliance department, the risk department, or any other individualwithin the mortgage company. Compliance documentation, such as finalcosts, receipts showing the percentage of final costs paid by eachparty, and justification for the percentage of final costs paid by eachparty, may be difficult to track down for recordkeeping and/or auditpurposes. In some cases, one party pays for the full amount of theadvertising cost up front, which then requires the other party/partiesto track down what the final costs were so that they may determine theirpro rata share(s) and reimburse the first party for the appropriateamount. Regardless of who within the mortgage company is charged withkeeping records and providing documentation, the mortgage company wouldultimately be held accountable to RESPA regulators for RESPA Section 8non-compliance.

Complicating matters further, many mortgage companies and real estatebrokerages require that their commissioned sales staff (or other staff)cover all, or a percentage, of any marketing costs incurred by thecompany on their behalf. In cases where a mortgage company requires aloan officer to contribute to marketing expenses incurred by the loanofficer, the mortgage company typically gives a loan officer anallowance of dollars toward marketing each month, or requires acontribution percentage that is paid by the loan officer for eachmarketing cost incurred. In the latter case, the contribution isgenerally made through either (1) a combination of a direct payment bythe loan officer and a direct payment by the mortgage company, (2) adirect payment for the full amount by the loan officer and a percentageof reimbursement by the mortgage company, or (3) through a directpayment in full by the mortgage company with some sort of deductionbeing made through the mortgage company's accounting department (eithervia a reduction of the loan officer's total commission amount or anotherinternal method). In most cases, the contribution requirement wouldexist whether the loan officer markets his/her services alone orco-markets with another entity.

In addition to RESPA Section 8 compliance requirements, both state andfederal regulations require mortgage companies to keep records of allforms of marketing advertisements, including any co-marketingadvertisements. This typically is not a problem for advertisementscreated in-house because the process is generally more controlled, butit may become an issue when the mortgage company or its loan officersare generating multiple one-off advertisements with external entities,because often there is little control over the process and the effortsto ensure RESPA Section 8 compliance and gather appropriatedocumentation may be time consuming and inefficient.

Embodiments described herein solve these issues for mortgage companiesand other entities incident to or part of real estate settlementservices regarding federally related mortgage loans. Embodimentsdescribed herein calculate precise pro rata shares on any givenco-marketed document by assigning each square millimeter of theco-marketed document to coordinates on a grid, then assigning individualco-marketer branding/advertising space to individual coordinates of thegrid. Based on the number of grid coordinates assigned to eachco-marketer, a percentage of overall marketing space each co-marketeroccupies within the co-marketed document is calculated. Usinginformation gathered through the workflow involved in generating aco-marketed document, these percentages are applied to the totalexpenses to arrive at the exact costs for each co-marketer. Payments arethen collected and reports are generated, providing documentation thateach co-marketer paid their fair share of total expenses and that noco-marketer defrayed costs for another co-marketer.

Embodiments described herein improve on previous RESPA Section 8compliance approaches in several ways. First, some organizations subjectto RESPA Section 8 compliance do not have a standard, repeatable processfor determining what amount of space on a given co-marketed documentshould be allocated to each co-marketing party. Currently, someorganizations have someone who will “eyeball” a co-marketed document andestimate the percentage of space that belongs to each co-marketingparty. This method may be very imprecise, inaccurate, and inconsistent.

In contrast, within a system implementing the disclosed embodiments, auser (such as a compliance officer or other authority of a mortgagecompany) may retrieve a co-marketed document and determine precise prorata shares for each co-marketing party by selecting, for example byclicking and dragging to highlight, the various areas of the documentthat belong to each co-marketing party. The system calculates thepercentage of the overall co-marketed document belonging to aco-marketing party based on the number of grid coordinates assigned tothe co-marketing party. The user may then “lock” that co-marketeddocument as a template so that pro rata shares and placement ofbranding/messaging or space allocations may not be changed for thatco-marketed document.

Second, some organizations subject to RESPA Section 8 compliance do notcurrently have a mechanism to calculate 1) exact pro rata costs for aco-marketed document based on the determined co-marketer shares and 2)total costs for production and fulfillment of the co-marketed document.This process is generally manual, may become time consuming andinefficient, and includes an added margin for human error because ofvendor inconsistency, lack of technology, or insufficient access toinformation for each co-marketing party.

In contrast, when a user uses a system that implements the disclosedembodiments to produce a co-marketed document, the system takes intoaccount the number of pieces of the co-marketed document to be produced,the number of recipients (if applicable), and any postage or other costsassociated with distributing the final product based on vendor pricingdata stored in the system and print job details entered by the user(e.g., the number of recipients in a postal route, the number of recordsin an uploaded spreadsheet, etc.) The system applies the predeterminedpro rata share percentages and calculates the total costs for eachco-marketing party (including any contribution percentages required tobe paid toward one co-marketing party's cost by the user, such as a loanofficer's percentage of contribution toward the mortgage company'spercentage of total costs).

Third, some organizations subject to RESPA Section 8 compliance do notcurrently have a mechanism to document how pro rata shares of aco-marketed document were determined, other than noting the percentagesdetermined from “eyeballing” the co-marketed document. Suchdocumentation may be necessary for various purposes, such as recordretention, as proof of RESPA Section 8 compliance in the event of anaudit, etc.

In contrast, the disclosed embodiments record the areas designated toeach co-marketing party, then provide a graphical record of thedesignated areas along with the percentages of the total space of aco-marketed document that was assigned to each co-marketing party.

Some organizations subject to RESPA Section 8 compliance do not have amechanism that generates all documentation required by state and federalregulations for a given document. Some organizations gather thisdocumentation manually and enter it into a form, a database, or aproject management system.

In contrast, a system implementing the disclosed embodiments produces,for example, specifically for record retention purposes, a summarydocument that is generated from all information collected by theactivity in the system (e.g., who generated the co-marketed document,the co-marketing parties, the method of delivery, pro rata sharecalculations, payments by each co-marketing party, receipts, marketingexpense contribution amounts, distribution dates and locations,information lenders need to retain appropriate advertising records,etc.)

In this disclosure, the terms “co-marketed real estate document” and“co-marketed document” are synonymous, the terms “loan officer” and“lender” are synonymous, the terms “real estate agent,” “realtor,” and“agent” are synonymous, and the terms “co-marketer” and “co-marketingparty” are synonymous.

FIG. 1 is an example of a co-marketed advertisement, according to anembodiment. A co-marketed advertisement is a type of co-marketeddocument which includes at least two areas, with each area correspondingto a respective co-marketer. For example, in FIG. 1, the document isco-marketed by real estate agent “Person A” and loan officer “Person B.”Two or more entities may co-market a co-marketed document.

A co-marketed document may be a printed document, such as a flyer orpostcard, or may be electronic, such as a file included in an email orpresented on a website. The co-marketed document of FIG. 1 is a postcardthat is to be printed and mailed using a postal service such as theUnited States Postal Service. The postcard includes a front portion 104and a back portion 106.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example user interface 200 including a markupeditor 204 for selecting regions of a co-marketed document correspondingto a plurality of co-marketers, according to an embodiment. Eachco-marketer in the plurality of co-marketers may be designated as aco-marketer type. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the user interface 200 isdisplayed within a web page; however, the user interface 200 couldalternatively be displayed by a separate program executing on a clientcomputer.

The markup editor 204 includes a document area 206, where a co-marketeddocument is displayed. A user may use the document area 206 of markupeditor 204 to select an area of the co-marketed document and designatethe selected area as corresponding to one of the co-marketer types.

A user may edit the document in the document area 206 of markup editor204. A user may be the co-marketer or may be associated with aco-marketer. A user may be the co-marketer, such as the realtor orlender, or the user may be an associate of the co-marketer such as anadministrative assistant or graphical designer. A user is associatedwith a co-marketer type. For example, a realtor and the realtor'sassociates that may edit the co-marketed document may be one co-marketertype, while a lender and the lender's associates that may edit theco-marketed document may be another co-marketer type. If areas of theco-marketed document have been designated as corresponding to one of theco-marketer types, a user may only edit the areas corresponding to theuser's co-marketer type.

The term “button” includes any user interface control, which, upon beingselected, starts an event, dispatches a message, or otherwise indicatesthat some functionality associated with the user interface control is tobe executed.

The markup editor 204 includes co-marketer selection controls that allowa user to select a co-marketer type. The markup editor 204 includes atleast one co-marketer type selection control for each co-marketer. Forexample, as shown in the example user interface 200 in FIG. 2, themarkup editor 204 includes the buttons “Mark Lender” 208 and “MarkAgent” 210. Upon selecting a co-marketer type, the user is able tomark-up the area(s) of the co-marketed document in the document area 206that correspond to that co-marketer type.

The markup editor 204 includes a legend that displays the mark-updecoration for each co-marketer type. A mark-up decoration may be acolor used to shade a selected area of a co-marketed document, across-hatching of a selected area of a co-marketed document, a patternused to fill a selected area of a co-marketed document, etc. Forexample, as shown in the example user interface 200 in FIG. 2, themarkup editor 204 includes the labels “Lender Area” 212 and “Agent Area”214. The label “Lender Area” 212 is decorated with slanted lines,indicating that any selected area(s) corresponding to the lenderco-marketer will be decorated with slanted lines. The label “Agent Area”214 is decorated with a diamond hatch, indicating that any selectedarea(s) corresponding to the agent co-marketer will be decorated with adiamond hatch.

The markup editor 204 includes a control that, when selected, causes theco-marketing shares of the document to be calculated. For example, asshown in the example user interface 200 in FIG. 2, the markup editor 204includes the “CALC %” button 216.

The markup editor 204 includes one or more controls that display the prorata shares of the total co-marketing space within the co-marketeddocument. For example, as shown in the example user interface 200 inFIG. 2, the markup editor 204 includes the label “Lender's Share” 218,which will display the pro rata share for the lender co-marketer type,and the label “Agent's Share” 220, which will display the pro rata sharefor the agent co-marketer type.

The markup editor 204 includes a label that displays legal information,such as legal disclaimers, and a checkbox control, which, when checked,indicates the user's acceptance and/or understanding of the displayedlegal information. For example, as shown in the example user interface200 in FIG. 2, the legal info label 222 displays legal information, andthe legal info checkbox 224 allows the user to indicate the user'sacceptance and/or understanding of the displayed legal information.

The markup editor 204 includes a control that allows the user save themarked-up areas of the co-marketed document. For example, as shown inthe example user interface 200 in FIG. 2, the markup editor 204 includesthe button “Save Markup” 226. Upon the user clicking this button, theco-marketed document and the marked-up areas of the co-marketed documentare saved in the system; no further modifications of either theco-marketed document or the co-marketed document's markup are possible.The saved co-marketed document may be stored as a template for futureuse. In an example, the template version may not be further modified,but may be used by a user as a basis for a new co-marketed document.This is advantageous for co-marketers that wish to maintain consistencybetween their co-marketed documents.

FIG. 3 illustrates a user beginning the mark-up process by selecting tomark-up the area(s) of a co-marketed document corresponding to a firstco-marketer type, according to an embodiment. The co-marketed documentis loaded into the user interface 200 prior to the user beginning themark-up process. The co-marketed document may be created or selected invarious ways. For example, the user may select an already existingco-marketed document from the user's computer, from within theco-marketing system, from the Internet, etc. The user may use theco-marketing system to create a new co-marketed document. The user mayselect an existing template to edit and create a new co-marketeddocument.

When the user is ready to begin the mark-up process, the user selects aco-marketer selection control to begin marking-up areas of theco-marketed document that correspond to the co-marketer type associatedwith the selected co-marketer selection control. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 3, the user selects the “Mark Lender” button 208 tobegin marking-up the areas of the co-marketed document corresponding tothe lender. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the user selects the “Mark Lender”button 208 by using cursor 302 to click the “Mark Lender” button 208;however, other selection mechanisms, such as keyboard shortcuts, arealso possible. In an embodiment, upon selection/creation of aco-marketed document, the user interface 200 may automatically selectone of the co-marketers, so that instead of having to first select aco-marketer, the user may begin marking-up the areas of the co-marketeddocument corresponding to the automatically selected co-marketer. In anembodiment, a user may be associated with a co-marketer type based onthe user's credentials. The system may recognize the user's co-marketertype and only permit the user to edit the portions of the co-marketerdocument associated with that co-marketer type. In an embodiment, when auser associated with a co-marketer type edits areas of the co-marketeddocument, the system may automatically mark the edited areas of theco-marketed document as corresponding to the user's co-marketer type.

FIG. 4 illustrates a user marking-up the area(s) of an documentcorresponding to a first selected co-marketer type, according to anembodiment. The co-marketer type selection control that was mostrecently selected is visually indicated in the markup editor 204. Forexample, FIG. 3 illustrated the user clicking on the “Mark Lender”button 208, thus, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the “Mark Lender” button 208is indicated as selected by a checkmark 402. Although FIG. 4 illustratesa selected co-marketer type selection control as including a checkmark402, a co-marketer type selection control may include one or more of acheckmark 402, shading, crosshatching, a filled-in color, etc.

The user marks-up an area of the co-marketed document by selecting thearea. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the user has partially marked-up an area404 corresponding to the lender by clicking and dragging the cursor 302over the area of the co-marketed document corresponding to the lender.In an embodiment, the tool presented for the user to mark-up an area isa tool for drawing a rectangular shape. The when the user clicks, acorner of the rectangle is set and as the user drags the cursor, thesize of the rectangle changes as the cursor moves farther or closer tothe original click point. The cursor controls the corner of therectangle opposite to the corner placed with the original click. Whenthe user stops dragging the drawn rectangle represents the selectedarea. In another embodiment, the tool may allow the user to create amulti-sided polygon for designating the selected area. A multisidedpolygon may be useful for instances when the area the user wishes toselect does not fit well within a rectangular shape. The user may clicka series of points to designate the vertices of the polygon. The areaenclosed by the polygon may designate the selected area.

A marked-up area is decorated with the same decoration as the labelcorresponding to the selected co-marketer type. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 4, the currently selected area 404, whichcorresponds to the lender, is decorated with slanted lines just as the“Lender Area” label 212, which corresponds to the lender, is decoratedwith slanted lines. To unmark a previously selected area, the userselects the area to “unselect” the area.

FIG. 5 illustrates a user continuing the mark-up process by selecting tomark-up the area(s) of a co-marketed document corresponding to a secondco-marketer type, according to an embodiment. The user may have alreadycompleted marking-up the area(s) of the co-marketed documentcorresponding to the first co-marketer type, or simply wants to switchto another co-marketer type and later return to mark-up the area(s)corresponding to the first co-marketer type. As illustrated in FIG. 5,the user has already marked-up the areas 502, 504 of the co-marketeddocument corresponding to the lender.

The user selects a second co-marketer type selection control (other thanthe co-marketer type selection control currently selected) to beginmarking-up the area(s) of the co-marketed document that correspond tothe second co-marketer type. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, theuser selects the “Mark Agent” button 210 to begin marking-up the areasof the co-marketed document corresponding to the agent. As illustratedin FIG. 5, the user selects the “Mark Agent” button 210 by using cursor302 to click the “Mark Agent” button 210; however, other selectionmechanisms, such as keyboard shortcuts, are also possible.

FIG. 6 illustrates a user marking-up the area(s) of a documentcorresponding to a second selected co-marketer type, according to anembodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the second co-marketertype is the agent and the user has clicked the “Mark Agent” button 210;thus, the “Mark Agent” button 210 is indicated as selected by acheckmark 402.

Similarly to the area(s) corresponding to the first co-marketer type,the user marks-up the area(s) corresponding to the second co-marketertype by selecting the area(s). As illustrated in FIG. 6, the user haspartially marked-up an area corresponding to the agent by clicking anddragging the cursor 302 over the area of the co-marketed documentcorresponding to the agent. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the currentlyselected area 602, which corresponds to the agent, is decorated with adiamond hatch just as the “Agent Area” label 214, which corresponds tothe agent, is decorated with a diamond hatch.

FIG. 7 illustrates a user selecting a control to direct the system tocalculate the pro rata document share for each co-marketer type of theco-marketed document, according to an embodiment. As illustrated in FIG.7, the user has marked-up the lender areas 502, 504 and the agent areas702, 704, and now wants the system to calculate the pro rata documentshares based on the marked-up areas. The system may use variousmeasurement techniques to determine the area of the selected areas, suchas pixels or standard measures like inches or centimeters. To instructthe system to calculate the pro rata document shares, the user mayselect the “CALC %” button 216. Upon the user selecting the “CALC %”button 216, the system calculates the total of the marked-up area(s) ofthe co-marketed document. The system then calculates each co-marketertype's percentage of the total marked-up area(s). For example, in ascenario, the system determines the marked-up area for a firstco-marketer type is 20 square centimeters and the marked-up area for asecond co-marketer type is 30 square centimeters. The total marked-upare is 50 square centimeters. The percentage for the first co-marketertype is 40% and the percentage for the second co-marketer type is 60%.The percentages are then displayed in user interface 200. If the usermakes further mark-up changes, the “CALC %” button 216 is clicked toupdate the co-marketer type's shares to reflect the mark-up changes.

In an embodiment, rather than having a calculation button 216, the userinterface 200 automatically calculates the co-marketer shares as theuser makes mark-up changes to the co-marketed document. In such anembodiment, co-marketer shares always reflect the current state of theco-marketed document's mark-up. As the user changes the size of themarked-up area, such as when the user clicks and drags a cursor forcreating or modifying a selection area, the calculation occurs inreal-time with the percentage display for each co-marketer type updatedcorresponding to the size changes.

FIG. 8 illustrates a user selecting a control to direct the system savethe mark-up permanently, according to an embodiment. When the user issatisfied that the co-marketed document and the calculated pro ratashare for each co-marketer type are compliant with RESPA Section 8, theuser checks the legal info checkbox 224 to indicate the user'sacceptance and/or understanding of the legal information displayed inlegal info label 222. Upon the legal info checkbox 224 being checked,the “Save Markup” button 226 becomes enabled. The user may then selectthe “Save Markup” button 226, for example by clicking the button withcursor 302. Upon the “Save Markup” button 226 being selected, the systemsaves the co-marketed document and its associated mark-up, and preventsany further modifications to either.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example co-marketed document that is overlaid withan example virtual grid 902, according to an embodiment. A co-marketeddocument is overlaid with such a virtual grid 902 within the markupeditor 204. Depending on the embodiment, the markup editor 204 may haveonly one virtual grid 902 that overlays the entire co-marketed document,or may have one virtual grid 902 for each individual portion (e.g.,front and back) of the co-marketed document. The grid 902 is “virtual”because the gridlines of the grid 902 are not typically displayed when aco-marketed document is overlaid with the grid 902 and displayed in themarkup editor 204.

The virtual grid 902 is comprised of equally sized squares. The size ofeach square is configurable; a typical value is 5 mm per side, for atotal area of 25 mm² per square. The virtual grid 902 uses a coordinatesystem (e.g., Cartesian), and each square within the virtual grid 902has a unique coordinate value within the coordinate system. Each squarewithin the virtual grid 902 is individually selectable.

FIG. 10 illustrates toggling between selected and unselected states of asquare of a virtual grid 902, according to an embodiment. The square hassides that are X mm in length 1001. State 1002 represents a square in anunselected state; this is the state of each square of a new virtual grid902, and the state of a square after the square has been deselected.State 1006 represents a square in a selected state; this is the state ofa square after the square has been selected in the mark-up process(illustrated in FIGS. 3-8 and described in the correspondingparagraphs). When a square is in state 1006 (selected), the square isdecorated according to the decoration chosen for the currently selectedco-marketer type. To transition from unselected state 1002 to selectedstate 1006, the square is selected 1004 (e.g., clicked) within userinterface 200. To transition from selected state 1006 to unselectedstate 1002, the square is deselected 1008 (e.g., clicked again) withinuser interface 200.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example virtual grid 902, according to anembodiment. A virtual grid 902 uses a coordinate system to address eachsquare within the virtual grid. The example virtual grid 902 illustratedin FIG. 11 uses a Cartesian coordinate system, which is a coordinatesystem that specifies each point uniquely in a geometric plane by a pairof numerical coordinates, which, for a particular point P, are thesigned distances from P to two fixed perpendicular directed lines,measured in the same unit of length. The coordinates are written as anordered pair (x, y). Each reference line is called a “coordinate axis”(or just “axis”) of the system, and the point where they meet is its“origin,” usually at ordered pair (0, 0). The coordinates may be definedas the positions of the perpendicular projections of the point onto thetwo axes, expressed as signed distances from the origin. For a givenpoint P, a line is drawn through P perpendicular to the x-axis 1102 tomeet it at X and second line is drawn through P perpendicular to they-axis 1104 to meet it at Y. The coordinates of P are then X and Yinterpreted as numbers x and y on the corresponding number lines.

By convention, the origin (the point where the x-axis 1102 and y-axis1104 intersect) is located in the bottom-left corner of the examplevirtual grid 902; however, the origin may be placed at any of the otherthree corners of the virtual grid 902. Each square is uniquelyaddressable by the numerical coordinates of the square. For example, thesquare with reference numeral 1106 has coordinates (0,0). The squarewith reference numeral 1108 has coordinates (1,0), the square withreference numeral 1110 has coordinates (2,0), etc.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of calculating the pro rata shares of aco-marketed document for each of two co-marketers, according to anembodiment. The area of the example virtual grid 902 corresponding tothe agent (“agent area” 1202) and the area of the example virtual grid902 corresponding to the lender (“tender area” 1204) have already beenmarked-up. As illustrated in FIG. 12, agent area 1202 includes the gridcoordinates (1,3), (2,3), (3,3), (1,4), (2,4), (3,4), (1,5), and (2,5),and lender area 1204 includes the grid coordinates (5,3), (6,3), (7,3),(8,3), (5,4), (6,4), (7,4), (8,4), (5,5), (6,5), (7,5), and (8,5).

The agent area 1202 and the lender area 1204 are converted (operation1206) into data structures 1208, 1214 to represent the agent area 1202and the lender area 1204, respectively. Each data structure 1208, 1214includes an identifier 1209, 1215 that identifies which co-marketer ofthe example virtual grid 902 the data structure 1208, 1214 represents.Each data structure 1208, 1214 includes a set of grid coordinates 1210,1216 that includes the grid coordinates from the marked-up area 1202,1204 of the corresponding co-marketer type. Each data structure 1208,1214, optionally includes an integer 1212, 1218 representing thequantity of grid coordinates in the set of grid coordinates 1210, 1216of the data structure 1208, 1214.

The data structures 1208, 1214 are provided (operation 1220) to a prorata shares calculation 1222, which uses the data structures 1208, 1214to calculate the pro rata share for each co-marketer type. Asillustrated in FIG. 12, the data structure 1208 representing the agenthas 8 grid coordinates (or “squares”) in its set of grid coordinates1210, and the data structure 1214 representing the lender has 12 gridcoordinates in its set of grid coordinates 1216; thus, the pro ratashares calculation 1222 calculates the total number of grid coordinatesamongst the co-marketers as follows: 8+12=20. The pro rata sharescalculation 1222 then calculates the pro rata share for each co-marketeras follows: the agent has 8/20=40%, and the lender has 12/20=60%.

In an embodiment, part or all of the calculations illustrated in FIG. 12are performed on the client (e.g., user's) machine; in anotherembodiment, part or all of the calculations illustrated in FIG. 12 areperformed on a server machine, such as described in FIG. 17.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 1300 for determining prorata shares of a co-marketed document, according to an embodiment. Datarepresenting an image of a co-marketed document, such as the co-marketedadvertisement illustrated in FIG. 1 and described in the accompanyingparagraphs, is loaded (operation 1302) into the system. A virtual grid,such as the example virtual grid 902 illustrated in FIG. 11 anddescribed in the accompanying paragraphs, is generated, and the image ofthe co-marketed document overlaid with the virtual grid is presented toa user (operation 1304). Data corresponding to selection of a firstco-marketer type and a selection of a first area of the virtual gridcorresponding to the first co-marketer type is received (operation1306), for example as illustrated in FIGS. 3-4 and described in theaccompanying paragraphs. Data corresponding to selection of a secondco-marketer type and a selection of a second area of the virtual gridcorresponding to the second co-marketer type is received (operation1308), for example as illustrated in FIGS. 5-6 and described in theaccompanying paragraphs. A selected area total, comprising a sum of allselected areas of the virtual grid, is calculated (operation 1310), forexample as illustrated in FIG. 12 and described in the accompanyingparagraphs. For each co-marketer type, a percentage of the totalselected area corresponding to that co-marketer type is calculated(operation 1311), for example as illustrated in FIG. 12 and described inthe accompanying paragraphs. Data corresponding to a selection to lockthe selected areas of the virtual grid is received (operation 1312), forexample as illustrated in FIG. 8 and described in the accompanyingparagraphs. The data corresponding to the image of the co-marketeddocument, the coordinates corresponding to the first area of the image,and the coordinates corresponding to the second area of the image aresaved (operation 1314). No further modifications to the datacorresponding to the image of the co-marketed document or the marked-upareas of the corresponding virtual grid are allowed.

After a user has permanently saved the mark-up for a co-marketeddocument, the system requests approval of the co-marketed document andits associated mark-up from one or more users. For example, if a loanofficer marked-up a document co-marketed with an agent, the agent or theagent's brokerage may approve the mark-up of the co-marketed document.As another example, a user responsible for RESPA compliance at either orboth of the mortgage company and the real estate brokerage may approvethe mark-up of the co-marketed document. This approval process ensuresthat co-marketed documents generated through the system by end usersadhere to the approved pro rata shares designated for each co-marketer.

After a co-marketed document and its associated mark-up have beenapproved, the co-marketed document and its associated mark-up are savedas a template that is available for future mailings based upon thatco-marketed document. Templates may be marked up on a one-at-a-time orper-print-job basis.

A user of the system may have various information associated with theuser. For example, a profile for a user may have associated headshots,graphics, logos, contact information, disclosures, or messages. Thesystem uses the profile information associated with a co-marketer topopulate template areas that may be designated to that co-marketer.Co-marketer profiles may be connected to one another within the system;thus, a co-marketer may be able to initiate the generation ofco-marketing materials using any approved template that is authorizedfor use by the co-marketer(s) with whom they will co-market.

To initiate generation of a co-marketed document, a user may select atemplate and a co-marketer. Selecting a co-marketer, such as a realtor,may trigger the population of content for the co-marketer into thepre-defined spaces allocated to a co-marketer type on the template.Another co-marketer, such as a lender, may be selected for anotherco-marketer type on the template. This may trigger the population ofcontent for the lender into the pre-defined spaces allocated to thelender's co-marketer type on the template. Once the co-marketers havebeen selected and their information populated, the user may then selectthe method for production (typically, print) of the co-marketed documentand an option for its distribution (e.g., direct mail). The system maycalculate total costs for each co-marketer based on each co-marketer'spro rata share of the total space.

If production of the co-marketed document requires approval, the systemsends a production approval request to each party whose approval isrequired (e.g., a co-marketer, a manager of a co-marketer'sorganization, etc.). Upon receiving all required approvals, the systemcharges a co-marketer's share of expenses to the co-marketer's accountwithin the system.

If a co-marketer's organization requires the co-marketer to contributeto the organization's percentage of expenses for the organization'sco-marketer, the system calculates the amount due from the co-marketer.For example, 100% of a particular co-marketed advertisement costs $500.Co-marketer 1's branding/messaging appears on 72% of the co-marketedadvertisement—a cost of $360. Co-marketer 2's branding/messaging appearson 28% of the mailer a cost of $140 but co-marketer 2's organizationrequires that the co-marketer contribute 50% to all marketing expensesattributed to the organization; therefore the final breakdown of costsreturned would be as follows:

Co-marketer 1: $360 (72%), paid by co-marketer 1's organization

Co-marketer 2: $140 (28%), with $70 due from co-marketer 2 and $70 duefrom co-marketer 2's organization.

Upon receiving all payments necessary for a production run of aco-marketed document, the system triggers the generation of a reportthat documents all details of the print job from start to finish,including payments, copies of final artwork of the co-marketed document,the marked-up coordinates of the virtual grid for the co-marketeddocument, a copy of the pro rata share designations, receipts, etc.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a print job summary 1402 for aparticular print job of a co-marketed document, according to anembodiment. A print job summary is created for each print job of aco-marketed document. A print job summary may be retrieved forcompliance purposes, in the event of an audit, etc. The example printjob summary 1402 includes a general summary 1404, as well as co-marketerspecific summary information 1406, 1408 for each co-marketer on theco-marketed document.

General summary 1404 includes information regarding which user generatedthe print job, when the print job was generated, the quantity of theco-marketed document that was printed, the co-marketers featured in thedocument, the total charges for the print job, etc.

The co-marketer specific summary information 1406, 1408 includes theco-marketer's name, the date of the co-marketer's approval of thetemplate for the print job, the amount due from the co-marketer'sorganization, the amount paid, the payment date, the payment type, etc.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a job payment receipt 1502 for aparticular print job of a co-marketed document, according to anembodiment. A job payment receipt 1502 lists payment information foreach payment that is made for a particular print job of a co-marketeddocument. Payment information for a payment includes identification ofthe co-marketer or co-marketing organization, the amount of the payment,an identification of the print job/order, etc.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example user interface 200 including an auditviewer 1604, according to an embodiment. A co-marketed document that isto be audited is loaded into the user interface 200 by the auditorselecting a co-marketed document that has been permanently saved, suchas illustrated in FIG. 8 and described its accompanying paragraphs.

The audit viewer 1604 includes a document area 1606, where a co-marketeddocument and the mark-up associated with the co-marketed document aredisplayed. Although a co-marketed document and the mark-up associatedwith the co-marketed document are displayed within the document area1606, no changes may be made to the mark-up associated with apermanently-saved co-marketed document.

Similar to the markup editor 204, the audit viewer 1604 includes alegend that displays the mark-up decoration associated with eachco-marketer type of the co-marketed document. For example, as shown inthe example user interface 200 in FIG. 16, the audit viewer 1604includes the labels “Lender Area” 212 and “Agent Area” 214. The label“Lender Area” 212 is decorated with slanted lines, indicating that anymarked-up area(s) corresponding to the lender co-marketer type aredecorated with slanted lines. The label “Agent Area” 214 is decoratedwith a diamond hatch, indicating that any marked-up area(s)corresponding to the agent co-marketer type are decorated with a diamondhatch. As illustrated in FIG. 16, the loaded co-marketed document isdisplayed with marked-up lender areas 502, 504 and marked-up agent areas702, 704, each of which had been previously associated with theco-marketed document (as illustrated in FIGS. 3-8 and described in theaccompanying paragraphs). Each of marked-up lender areas 502, 504 andmarked-up agent areas 702, 704 are decorated with the decorationassociated with the respective co-marketer for that co-marketeddocument.

Similar to the markup editor 204, the audit viewer 1604 optionallyincludes co-marketer type selection controls that allow an auditor toselect a co-marketer type. The audit viewer 1604 optionally includes atleast one co-marketer type selection control for each co-marketer type.For example, as shown in the example user interface 200 in FIG. 16, theaudit viewer 1604 includes the buttons “Verify Lender” 1608 and “VerifyAgent” 1610. Upon selecting a co-marketer type, the auditor is able toverify the area(s) of the document in the document area 1606 thatcorrespond to that co-marketer type by selecting one or more areas ofthe co-marketed document that the auditor considers to correspond to theco-marketer type. The one or more areas selected by the auditor aredecorated, but with a different decoration than the marked-up areas thatare associated with the permanently saved co-marketed document.

Similar to the markup editor 204, the audit viewer 1604 includes one ormore controls, each displaying the pro rata share for the area(s)selected by the auditor as corresponding with a co-marketer type of theco-marketed document. For example, as shown in the example userinterface 200 in FIG. 16, the audit viewer 1604 includes the label“Lender's Share” 1618, which displays the pro rata share for the areasselected by the auditor as corresponding to the lender co-marketer type,and the label “Agent's Share” 1620, which displays the pro rata sharefor the areas selected by the auditor as corresponding to the agentco-marketer type. In an embodiment, rather than having a “Calculate”button to calculate the pro rata shares of the areas selected by theauditor, the labels are updated dynamically as the auditorselects/deselects areas. By comparing the values in labels 1618, 1620 tothe pro rata share values displayed within labels 212, 214, the auditormay determine by how much, if at all, the co-marketed document violatesRESPA Section 8.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating various components of a documentsystem 1710, according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, thedocument system 1710 is generally based on a three-tiered architecture,consisting of a front-end layer, application logic layer, and datalayer. As is understood by skilled artisans in the relevant computer andInternet-related arts, each module or engine shown in FIG. 17 representsa hardware implementation (e.g., memory and processor) for executing theinstructions. To avoid obscuring the disclosure with unnecessary detail,various functional modules and engines that are not germane to conveyingan understanding of the disclosed subject matter have been omitted fromFIG. 17. However, a skilled artisan will readily recognize that variousadditional functional modules and engines may be used with a documentsystem 1710 such as that illustrated in FIG. 17, to facilitateadditional functionality that is not specifically described herein.Furthermore, in an embodiment, the various functional modules andengines depicted in FIG. 17 reside on a single server computer; inanother embodiment, the various functional modules and engines depictedin FIG. 17 are distributed across several server computers in variousarrangements.

As shown in FIG. 17, the front end consists of a user interface module(e.g., a web server) 1712, which receives requests from various clientcomputing devices (not shown), and communicates appropriate responses tothe requesting client computing devices. In an embodiment, the userinterface module(s) 1712 receive requests in the form of HypertextTransport Protocol (HTTP) requests, or other web-based, applicationprogramming interface (API) requests. The application logic layerincludes various application server modules 1714, which, in conjunctionwith the user interface module(s) 1712, generates various userinterfaces (e.g., web pages) with data retrieved from various datasources in the data layer. In an embodiment, individual applicationserver modules 1714 are used to implement the functionality associatedwith various services and features of the document system 1710.Similarly, other applications or services that utilize the co-marketingdocument module 1716 will be embodied in their own application servermodules 1714.

As shown in FIG. 17, the data layer includes several databases, such asa database 1718 for storing profile data (e.g., user profile data),database 1720 for storing document and mark-up data, and database 1722for print job data. In an embodiment, one or more of the data indatabases 1718, 1720, and 1720 are combined into one database.

A user may utilize the co-marketer system for creating or modifying aco-marketed document. As previously noted, a user may be theco-marketer, such as the lender or the realtor, or may be an associateof the co-marketer, such as an administrative assistant or hired graphicdesigner, that the co-marketer has authorized to use the co-marketersystem on the co-marketer's behalf. The co-marketer system may be usedto create or modify a co-marketed document template for use in creatingfuture co-marketed documents. A mark-up editor may be used with aco-marketed document template such that future co-marketed documentscreated with the co-marketed document template will have a known spaceallocation percentage for each co-marketer type.

While two or more co-marketers may have agreed to create a co-marketeddocument together, the co-marketers may not wish to allow the otherco-marketer to edit any portion of the co-marketed document that doesnot belong to that particular co-marketer. For example, a lender and arealtor may agree to produce a co-marketed document together. However,the lender may wish to ensure that certain legal disclaimers appears onany document the lender produces. Thus, the lender not only wants to beable to edit portions of the co-marketed document, but the lender alsodoes not want to allow the realtor to edit any portions belonging to therealtor to prevent the realtor from altering legally required language,such as the legal disclaimers.

A first user may access the co-marketer system by entering theircredentials, such as a username and password. The co-marketer system maybe a software program or application executed on a personal computingdevice or an online service accessed through a web browser. Theco-marketer system may be accessed through various electronic devicessuch as a personal computer, a tablet, or a smartphone. Based on thefirst user entered credentials, the system may identify a firstco-marketer type for the first user, such as realtor. In anotherexample, a co-marketer type may identify a specific group, such as theJohnson Realty of Springfield.

The first user may instruct the co-marketer system to load an instanceof a co-marketed document layout, such as a co-marketed documenttemplate. A co-marketed document layout may be configured with a set ofeditable regions. The editable regions may correspond to either thefirst co-marketer type or the second co-marketer type. A co-marketeddocument layout is not limited to two co-marketers and may be configuredfor more than two co-marketers. For example, a co-marketer documentlayout may include a third co-marketer type, such as a title closer.

The co-marketed document layout includes editable regions correspondingto a co-marketer type. For example, the co-marketed document layoutincludes editable regions with a portion of the regions designated aseditable regions for the first co-marketer type and a portion of theregions designated as editable regions for the second co-marketer type.The co-marketed document layout may include editable regions for eitherco-marketer type. The co-marketer system, with the first user beingidentified as the first co-marketer type, may identify a first subset ofthe set of editable regions as associated with the first co-marketertype. The first subset having at least one editable region not includedin a second subset of the set of editable regions.

The co-marketer system may provide a first graphical user interface(GUI) to the first user. The first GUI includes one or more GUI controlsfor the first user to edit each of the first subset of editable regions.The GUI controls include, but are not limited to, graphical editingtools such as inserting text, inserting an image, and the ability tochange size, shape, color, and orientation. The co-marketer system mayreceive edits and modifications from the first GUI made by the firstuser. The first user may only edit regions in the first subset ofeditable regions and not edit regions in the second subset of editableregions. The co-marketer system may store the edits received from thesecond GUI that were made by the first user.

A user of the co-marketer system may make edits, through a GUI, to theportions of a co-marketed document layout designated as correspondingwith the same co-marketer type as the user. The edits may include addingtext and graphics. For example, if the co-marketer type for the user isa realtor, the user may add pictures of a home for sale and textdetailing the attributes of the home. The user may also include contactinformation for the realtor and a picture of the realtor. Theco-marketer system may recognize the user based on the user'scredentials and automatically pre-populate fields in a co-marketeddocument template with information about the user or co-marketer type,such as a picture or contact information for the realtor. Theco-marketer may also be associated with a larger group, such as a groupof realtors, and the co-marketer system may automatically populate alogo, font, or color scheme, for example, associated with the realtygroup.

The co-marketer system may be connected, either directly to a device orby a network, to a database of graphics and information for populatingthe co-marketing document. For example, the database may be a user'sstorage device containing data and pictures the user wishes to utilizeon the co-marketed document. For example, the database may also be aservice such as the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for realtors.Utilizing the identification of the user or the co-marketer type, theco-marketing system may access the MLS and locate all the home listingsassociated with the user. The user may select a listing from the set oflistings associated with the user. By selecting a listing, theco-marketer system may load all the images and data associated with thelisting. Some or all of the images and data may then populate into theco-marketed document template. The user may then select the data andimages the user wishes to use for the co-marketed document in the subsetof editable regions that the user may edit. After selecting the data andimages the user wishes to use, the user may also edit and modify thedata and images. For example, this may include revising the text andchanging the color, size, or font of the text. This may include alteringthe size, orientation, and location of the images, as well as performingphoto adjustments such as using photo color filters.

The co-marketer system may also automatically populate sections based onthe co-marketer type. For example, if the co-marketer is determined tobe a lender, the co-marketer system recognizes that a lender is requiredto provide legal disclaimers with any distributed documents. Theco-marketer system thus automatically populates a section of theco-marketed document with required information such as legal disclaimersdetermined by the co-marketer type. The co-marketer system may alsopresent the user with multiple options of required information based onthe co-marketer type. For example, the co-marketer may have differentlegal disclaimers corresponding to the type of co-marketing documentbeing created. The co-marketer may then select the appropriate legaldisclaimer for the co-marketed document being created.

A second user may access the co-marketer system by entering theircredentials, such as a username and password. The second user may accessthe co-marketing system from their own device, separate from the firstuser's device. Based on the second user entered credentials, the systemmay identify a second co-marketer type for the second user, such asbeing a lender. The co-marketer system, with the second user beingidentified as the second co-marketer type, may identify a second subsetof the set of editable regions as associated with the second co-marketertype. The second subset having at least one editable region not includedin the first subset of the set of editable regions.

The co-marketer system may provide a second GUI to the second user. Thesecond. GUI includes one or more GUI controls, similar to the first GUI,for the second user to edit each of the second subset of editableregions. The co-marketer system may receive edits and modifications fromthe second GUI made by the second user. The second user may only editregions in the second subset of editable regions and not edit regions inthe first subset of editable regions. The co-marketer system may storethe edits received from the second GUI that were made by the seconduser.

The co-marketer system may display in a GUI the modified co-marketeddocument with the edits made by each user of a co-marketer. The areamark-up process may be performed on the modified co-marketed documentboth during the editing process and once the co-marketed document iscompleted. A user may wish to perform the area mark-up process duringthe editing of the co-marketed document if there is a predetermined areaallocation desired. For example, two co-marketers, a realtor and alender, agree they wish to create a co-marketed document with therealtor having 75% allocated space and the lender having 25% allocatedspace. The users of the co-marketer system may wish to utilize themark-up process during the editing of the co-marketed document to ensurethe edit and modifications stay within the desired space allocations.

The co-marketed document may be edited and modified multiple times byusers of each co-marketer type, with the edits to the co-marketeddocument being stored when each user completes their edits. In anembodiment, when a user of a first co-marketer type completes and storestheir work, the co-marketer system may notify the second co-marketertype. A notification may be initiated by a user or automatically sentwhen work is completed for a co-marketer type. Notifications may be atransmitted notification such as an email, instant message, or SMS textmessage. A notification may also be within the co-marketer system suchas an alert or message provided the next time a user for the secondco-marketer type logs into the co-marketer system.

The co-marketer system may limit a user of a co-marketer type fromediting regions of the co-marketed document that are not designated asregions for the same co-marketer type. The co-marketed document may alsohave joint editable regions that may allow multiple co-marketer types toedit the region. In an embodiment, the co-marketed document layout mayhave editable regions designated only editable by one of the co-marketertypes, but may allow movement of the placement for the editable regionsby any co-marketer type. For example, a co-marketed document layout maycontain a first set of editable regions for a first co-marketer type anda second set of editable regions for a second co-marketer type. Aspreviously described, the a user of the first co-marketer type may onlyedit the content of the first set of editable regions and a user of thesecond co-marketer type may only edit content of the second set ofeditable regions. However, in this embodiment, the placement of thefirst and second set of editable regions may be modified by eitherco-marketer type. This embodiment may allow the co-marketers to ensurethe content within their designated editable regions of the co-marketeddocument was correct, but may allow either co-marketer to determine theplacement of the content for the presentation and aesthetic of theco-marketed document.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example user interface 1800 including a documenteditor 1804 for editing a document corresponding to a plurality ofco-marketers, according to an embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 18, theuser interface 1800 is displayed within a web page; however, the userinterface 1800 may alternatively be displayed by a separate programexecuting on a client computer.

The markup editor 1804 includes a document area 1806, where aco-marketed document is displayed. A user may use the document area 1806of document editor 1804 to edit a region of the co-marketed document1832.

The document editor 1804 includes GUI controls for a user to edit aco-marketed document 1832. The document editor 1804 includes GUIcontrols such as an “Insert Text” button 1808 to activate thefunctionality of inserting a text block in the co-marketed document 1832or an “Insert Graphic” button 1810 to activate the functionality ofinserting a graphic image in the co-marketed document 1832. The GUIcontrols include a “Load MLS Listing” button 1812, which when clicked bya user may prompt the user for an MLS listing number the user wishes toload information for. In an embodiment, by clicking the “Load MLSListing” button 1812, the co-marketer system may recognize the identityof the user and automatically provide a list of all the MLS listingsassociated with the user. The GUI controls may include a “Load Template”button 1814 for loading a co-marketing document template. The GUIcontrols may include an “Edit Image” button 1816 for a user to adjustaspects (e.g., color, size, orientation) of an image, such as the houseimage 1830.

In the example user interface 1800, the current user is Agent, asindicated in the user identification 1826. In the example, based on theidentification of the user as Agent, the regions of the co-marketeddocument 1832 that belong to Lender are not accessible by Agent. Thecross-hatch area 1828 indicates the current user, Agent, may not editthis portion of the co-marketed document 1832.

In the example illustration 1800, the user has loaded an MLS listing1824. The loaded MLS listing 1824 provides images for the user toutilize on the co-marketed document, such as a house exterior image1818, a living room image, 1820, and a master bedroom image 1822.

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for editing aco-marketed document, according to an embodiment. The co-marketer systemmay receive a first credential identifying a first user as a firstco-marketer type (operation 1902). For example, a credential may be ausername and password, a biometric, or scan of an access card. Theco-marketer system may then load an instance of a co-marketed documentlayout corresponding to the first co-marketer type and a secondco-marketer type, the instance comprising a set of editable regions(operation 1904). The co-marketer system may then identify a firstsubset of the set of editable regions based on identifying the firstuser as the first co-marketer type, wherein the first subset has atleast one editable region not included in a second subset of the set ofeditable regions (operation 1906). For example, the co-marketed documentlayout has editable regions that are designated for one or the otherco-marketer type. Thus, there may be regions designated for the firstco-marketed type which are not designated for the second co-marketertype.

The co-marketer system may provide a first graphical user interface(GUI) to the first user, the GUI providing one or more GUI controls toedit the first subset of editable regions (operation 1908). The GUIprovides mechanisms for a user to edit and modify the editable regionsof the co-marketed document, as seen in the example illustration FIG.18. The co-marketer system may receive a first edit from the first usercorresponding to at least one editable region in the first subset of theset of editable regions (operation 1910). An edit may comprise addingtext, inserting a graphic, moving the placement of the editable regions,or loading information from a database, such as an MLS database.

The co-marketer system may receive a second credential identifying asecond user as the second co-marketer type (operation 1911). The secondco-marketer type being different from the first co-marketer type todistinguish two separate entities for the co-marketed document. Theco-marketer system may identify the second subset of the set of editableregions based on identifying the second user as the second co-marketertype, wherein the second subset has at least one editable region notincluded in the first subset of the set of editable regions (operation1912). The co-marketer system may provide a second GUI to the seconduser, the second GUI providing one or more GUI controls to edit thesecond subset of editable regions (operation 1914) and receive a secondedit from the second user corresponding to at least one editable regionin the second subset of the set of editable regions (operation 1916).

The co-marketer system, having received the first and second edits maythen store a modified instance of the co-marketed document layoutincluding the first and second edits (operation 1918). The co-marketersystem may then provide a graphical representation of the modifiedinstance of the co-marketed document layout (operation 1920).

The above detailed description includes descriptions and examples of aco-marketer system utilized by two co-marketers for the creation,modification, and mark-up of a co-marketed document. The co-marketedsystem may be utilized by more than two co-marketers to create, modify,and mark-up a co-marketed document. For example, the co-marketer systemmay allow a realtor, lender, title closer, and builder to beco-marketers together and create a co-marketed document together.

The co-marketer system may be connected to a printing service by anetwork. The co-marketer system may receive information from theprinting service about the types of services and costs of those servicesoffered by the printing service. The co-marketer system may use theinformation provided by the printing service to present printing optionsto the co-marketer system users and determine the cost of printing aco-marketed document including the cost for each co-marketer based onthe determined percentages from the mark-up process.

The co-marketer system may also receive payments from co-marketers forthe printing of co-marketed documents by a printing service. Because ofregulations concerning incentives, such as those discussed with RESPA,once a print product has been selected and the percentage of spaceallocation for each co-marketer determined, the co-marketer system maybe used to collect payment from each of the co-marketers. This may helpensure there is no overpayment by a co-marketer has occurred and thusgive the other a “thing of value.”

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a machine 2000,upon which any one or more example embodiments may be implemented. Inalternative embodiments, the machine 2000 may operate as a standalonedevice or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In anetworked deployment, the machine 2000 may operate in the capacity of aserver machine, a client machine, or both in a client-server networkenvironment. In an example, the machine 2000 may act as a peer machinein a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Themachine 2000 may implement or include any portion of the advertisingsystem of FIG. 17, and may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, aset-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobiletelephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a network router, switch orbridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,although only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloudcomputing, software as a service (SaaS), other computer clusterconfigurations, etc.

Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate by, logic ora number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangibleentities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations andmay be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example,circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to externalentities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. Inan example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., astandalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardwareprocessors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g.,instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a modulethat operates to perform specified operations. In an example, thesoftware may reside on a machine-readable medium. In an example, thesoftware, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causesthe hardware to perform the specified operations.

Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangibleentity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specificallyconfigured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily)configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or toperform part or all of any operation described herein. Consideringexamples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of themodules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example,where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processorconfigured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may beconfigured as respective different modules at different times. Softwaremay accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, toconstitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitutea different module at a different instance of time.

Machine (e.g., computer system) 2000 may include a hardware processor2002 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a mainmemory 2004 and a static memory 2006, some or all of which maycommunicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 2008. Themachine 2000 may further include a display unit 2010, an alphanumericinput device 2012 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI)navigation device 2014 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit2010, input device 2012 and UI navigation device 2014 may be a touchscreen display. The machine 2000 may additionally include a storagedevice (e.g., drive unit) 2016, a signal generation device 2018 (e.g., aspeaker), a network interface device 2020, and one or more sensors 2021,such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass,accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 2000 may include an outputcontroller 2028, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB),parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near fieldcommunication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one ormore peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.)

The storage device 2016 may include a machine-readable medium 2022 onwhich is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 2024(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of thetechniques or functions described herein. The instructions 2024 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 2004,within static memory 2006, or within the hardware processor 2002 duringexecution thereof by the machine 2000. In an example, one or anycombination of the hardware processor 2002, the main memory 2004, thestatic memory 2006, or the storage device 2016 may constitutemachine-readable media.

Although the machine-readable medium 2022 is illustrated as a singlemedium, the term “machine-readable medium” may include a single mediumor multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) configured to store the one or moreinstructions 2024.

The term “machine-readable medium” may include any medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine 2000 and that cause the machine 2000 to perform any one ormore of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated withsuch instructions. Non-limiting machine-readable medium examples mayinclude solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media.Accordingly, machine-readable media are not transitory propagatingsignals. Specific examples of machine-readable media may includenon-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g.,Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memorydevices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); Solid StateDrives (SSD); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

The instructions 2024 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 2026 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 2020 utilizing any one of a number of transferprotocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmissioncontrol protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards known as IEEE 802.16 family of standardsknown as WiMAX®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, a Long TermEvolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P)networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device 2020may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, orphone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communicationsnetwork 2026. In an example, the network interface device 2020 mayinclude a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at leastone of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO)techniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include anyintangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carryinginstructions for execution by the machine 2000, and includes digital oranalog communications signals or other intangible medium to facilitatecommunication of such software.

Conventional terms in the fields of computer networking and computersystems have been used herein. The terms are known in the art and areprovided only as a non-limiting example for convenience purposes.Accordingly, the interpretation of the corresponding terms in theclaims, unless stated otherwise, is not limited to any particulardefinition.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat any arrangement that is calculated to achieve the same purpose maybe substituted for the specific embodiments shown. Many adaptations willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, thisapplication is intended to cover any adaptations or variations.

The above detailed description includes references to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The drawingsshow, by way of illustration, specific embodiments that may bepracticed. These embodiments are also referred to herein as “examples.”Such examples may include elements in addition to those shown ordescribed. However, the present inventors also contemplate examples inwhich only those elements shown or described are provided. Moreover, thepresent inventors also contemplate examples using any combination orpermutation of those elements shown or described (or one or more aspectsthereof), either with respect to a particular example (or one or moreaspects thereof), or with respect to other examples (or one or moreaspects thereof) shown or described herein.

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one, independent of any otherinstances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In thisdocument, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that“A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unlessotherwise indicated. Moreover, in the following claims, the terms“first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and arenot intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

In this Detailed Description, various features may have been groupedtogether to streamline the disclosure. This should not be interpreted asintending that an unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim.Rather, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of aparticular disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment, and it is contemplated that suchembodiments may be combined with each other in various combinations orpermutations. The scope of the embodiments should be determined withreference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or moreaspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. Otherembodiments may be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the artupon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is provided to allowthe reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosureand is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used tointerpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Example 1 is a non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprisinginstructions which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:receive a first credential identifying a first user as a firstco-marketer type; load an instance of a co-marketed document layoutcorresponding to the first co-marketer type and a second co-marketertype, the instance comprising a set of editable regions; identify afirst subset of the set of editable regions based on identifying thefirst user as the first co-marketer type, wherein the first subset hasat least one editable region not included in a second subset of the setof editable regions; provide a first graphical user interface (GUI) tothe first user, the GUI providing one or more GUI controls to edit thefirst subset of editable regions; receive a first edit from the firstuser corresponding to at least one editable region in the first subsetof the set of editable regions; receive a second credential identifyinga second user as the second co-marketer type; identify the second subsetof the set of editable regions based on identifying the second user asthe second co-marketer type, wherein the second subset has at least oneeditable region not included in the first subset of the set of editableregions; provide a second GUI to the second user, the second GUIproviding one or more GUI controls to edit the second subset of editableregions; receive a second edit from the second user corresponding to atleast one editable region in the second subset of the set of editableregions; store a modified instance of the co-marketed document layoutincluding the first and second edits; and provide a graphicalrepresentation of the modified instance of the co-marketed documentlayout.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 includes, wherein the setof editable regions of the instance includes one or more editable textor graphic.

In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 2 includes, wherein theeditable graphic comprises an image received from a listing associatedwith the first or second co-marketer on the Multiple Listing Service(MLS).

In Example 4, the subject matter of Examples 2-3 includes, wherein theeditable text comprises textual data received from a listing associatedwith the first or second co-marketer on the Multiple Listing Service(MLS).

In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 1-4 includes, instructionsto: provide a third GUI to the first or second user, the third GUIproviding one or more GUI controls to select at least one area of themodified instance of the co-marketed document layout and assign aselected area to either the first co-marketer type or the secondco-marketer type; receive a first selection area designated by a firstset of coordinates corresponding to at least one selected area of themodified instance of the co-marketed document layout, wherein the firstselection area is associated with the first co-marketer type; receive asecond selection area designated by a second set of coordinatescorresponding to at least one selected area of the modified instance ofthe co-marketed document layout, wherein the second selection area isassociated with the second co-marketer type; calculate a selected areatotal comprising a sum of the first selection area and the secondselection area; calculate a first percentage for the first selectionarea of the selected area total and a second percentage for the secondselection area of the selected area total; and provide, to the thirdGUI, the first percentage and the second percentage for display.

In Example 6, the subject matter of Example 5 includes, instructions to:receive the first set of coordinates as the first or second user iscreating the first selection area; and provide, to the third GUI, thefirst percentage and the second percentage for display as the first orsecond user is creating the first selection area.

In Example 7, the subject matter of Examples 5-6 includes, instructionsto: receive the second set of coordinates as the first or second user iscreating the second selection area; and provide, to the third GUI, thefirst percentage and the second percentage for display as the first orsecond user is creating the second selection area.

In Example 8, the subject matter of Examples 1-7 includes, instructionsto transmit the modified instance to a network-based printing servicefor printing physical copies of the modified instance of the co-marketeddocument layout.

In Example 9, the subject matter of Examples 1-8 includes, instructionsto transmit the modified instance to a printer for printing physicalcopies of the modified instance of the co-marketed document layout.

In Example 10, the subject matter of Examples 1-9 includes, wherein theinstance of a co-marketed document layout is based on a co-marketeddocument layout template.

In Example 11, the subject matter of Examples 1-10 includes, where thesecond user cannot edit the first subset of the set of editable regions.

In Example 12, the subject matter of Examples 1-11 includes, wherein thefirst user cannot edit the second subset of the set of editable regions.

In Example 13, the subject matter of Examples 1-12 includes, wherein thefirst user and the second user are using different devices.

Example 14 is a method comprising: receiving a first credentialidentifying a first user as a first co-marketer type; loading aninstance of a co-marketed document layout corresponding to the firstco-marketer type and a second co-marketer type, the instance comprisinga set of editable regions; identifying a first subset of the set ofeditable regions based on identifying the first user as the firstco-marketer type, wherein the first subset has at least one editableregion not included in a second subset of the set of editable regions;providing a first graphical user interface (GUI) to the first user, theGUI providing one or more GUI controls to edit the first subset ofeditable regions; receiving a first edit from the first usercorresponding to at least one editable region in the first subset of theset of editable regions; receiving a second credential identifying asecond user as the second co-marketer type; identifying the secondsubset of the set of editable regions based on identifying the seconduser as the second co-marketer type, wherein the second subset has atleast one editable region not included in the first subset of the set ofeditable regions; providing a second GUI to the second user, the secondGUI providing one or more GUI controls to edit the second subset ofeditable regions; receiving a second edit from the second usercorresponding to at least one editable region in the second subset ofthe set of editable regions; storing a modified instance of theco-marketed document layout including the first and second edits; andproviding a graphical representation of the modified instance of theco-marketed document layout.

In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 14 includes, wherein theset of editable regions of the instance includes one or more editabletext or graphic.

In Example 16, the subject matter of Example 15 includes, wherein theeditable graphic comprises an image received from a listing associatedwith the first or second co-marketer on the Multiple Listing Service(MLS).

In Example 17, the subject matter of Examples 15-16 includes, whereinthe editable text comprises textual data received from a listingassociated with the first or second co-marketer on the Multiple ListingService (MLS).

In Example 18, the subject matter of Examples 14-17 includes, providinga third GUI to the first or second user, the third GUI providing one ormore GUI controls to select at least one area of the modified instanceof the co-marketed document layout and assign a selected area to eitherthe first co-marketer type or the second co-marketer type; receiving afirst selection area designated by a first set of coordinatescorresponding to at least one selected area of the modified instance ofthe co-marketed document layout, wherein the first selection area isassociated with the first co-marketer type; receiving a second selectionarea designated by a second set of coordinates corresponding to at leastone selected area of the modified instance of the co-marketed documentlayout, wherein the second selection area is associated with the secondco-marketer type; calculating a selected area total comprising a sum ofthe first selection area and the second selection area; calculating afirst percentage for the first selection area of the selected area totaland a second percentage for the second selection area of the selectedarea total; and providing, to the third GUI, the first percentage andthe second percentage for display.

In Example 19, the subject matter of Example 18 includes, receiving thefirst set of coordinates as the first or second user is creating thefirst selection area; and providing, to the third GUI, the firstpercentage and the second percentage for display as the first or seconduser is creating the first selection area.

In Example 20, the subject matter of Examples 18-19 includes, receivingthe second set of coordinates as the first or second user is creatingthe second selection area; and providing, to the third GUI, the firstpercentage and the second percentage for display as the first or seconduser is creating the second selection area.

Example 21 is a system comprising: a processor and memory, includinginstructions which when executed by the processor, cause the processorto: receive a first credential identifying a first user as a firstco-marketer type; load an instance of a co-marketed document layoutcorresponding to the first co-marketer type and a second co-marketertype, the instance comprising a set of editable regions; identify afirst subset of the set of editable regions based on identifying thefirst user as the first co-marketer type, wherein the first subset hasat least one editable region not included in a second subset of the setof editable regions; provide a first graphical user interface (GUI) tothe first user, the GUI providing one or more GUI controls to edit thefirst subset of editable regions; receive a first edit from the firstuser corresponding to at least one editable region in the first subsetof the set of editable regions; receive a second credential identifyinga second user as the second co-marketer type; identify the second subsetof the set of editable regions based on identifying the second user asthe second co-marketer type, wherein the second subset has at least oneeditable region not included in the first subset of the set of editableregions; provide a second GUI to the second user, the second GUIproviding one or more GUI controls to edit the second subset of editableregions; receive a second edit from the second user corresponding to atleast one editable region in the second subset of the set of editableregions; store a modified instance of the co-marketed document layoutincluding the first and second edits; and provide a graphicalrepresentation of the modified instance of the co-marketed documentlayout.

In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21 includes, wherein theset of editable regions of the instance includes one or more editabletext or graphic.

In Example 23, the subject matter of Example 22 includes, wherein theeditable graphic comprises an image received from a listing associatedwith the first or second co-marketer on the Multiple Listing Service(MLS).

In Example 24, the subject matter of Examples 22-23 includes, whereinthe editable text comprises textual data received from a listingassociated with the first or second co-marketer on the Multiple ListingService (MLS).

In Example 25, the subject matter of Examples 21-24 includes, whereinthe instruction further cause the processor to: provide a third GUI tothe first or second user, the third GUI providing one or more GUIcontrols to select at least one area of the modified instance of theco-marketed document layout and assign a selected area to either thefirst co-marketer type or the second co-marketer type; receive a firstselection area designated by a first set of coordinates corresponding toat least one selected area of the modified instance of the co-marketeddocument layout, wherein the first selection area is associated with thefirst co-marketer type; receive a second selection area designated by asecond set of coordinates corresponding to at least one selected area ofthe modified instance of the co-marketed document layout, wherein thesecond selection area is associated with the second co-marketer type;calculate a selected area total comprising a sum of the first selectionarea and the second selection area; calculate a first percentage for thefirst selection area of the selected area total and a second percentagefor the second selection area of the selected area total; and provide,to the third GUI, the first percentage and the second percentage fordisplay.

In Example 26, the subject matter of Example 25 includes, wherein theinstruction further cause the processor to: receive the first set ofcoordinates as the first or second user is creating the first selectionarea; and provide, to the third GUI, the first percentage and the secondpercentage for display as the first or second user is creating the firstselection area.

Example 27 is at least one machine-readable medium includinginstructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause theprocessing circuitry to perform operations to implement of any ofExamples 1-26.

Example 28 is an apparatus comprising means to implement of any ofExamples 1-26.

Example 29 is a system to implement of any of Examples 1-26.

Example 30 is a method to implement of any of Examples 1-26.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory machine-readable medium,comprising instructions which when executed by a machine, cause themachine to: receive an identification for a template of a co-marketeddocument layout; load the template, wherein the template includes aplurality of regions associated with at least a first co-marketer typeand a plurality of regions associated with at least a second co-marketertype; receive a credential for a user, wherein the credential identifiesthe user as the first co-marketer type; receive an identificationassociated with an identified data set from a plurality of data sets;populate the plurality of regions of the template associated with atleast the first co-marketer type with data items from the identifieddata set; store the template with populated regions as a co-marketeddocument; determine an amount of space of the co-marketed documentpopulated with data items of the first co-marketer type; calculate apercentage of total space of the co-marketed document populated withdata items of the first co-marketer type; and transmit a message to adevice associated with a second co-marketer user indicating thepercentage of total space of the co-marketed document populated withdata items of the first co-marketer type.
 2. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to:receive a credential for a second user, wherein the credential for thesecond user identifies the second user as the second co-marketer type;receive a second identification associated with a second data set fromthe plurality of data sets; populate the plurality of regions of thetemplate associated with at least the second co-marketer type with dataitems from the second data set; and store the template with populatedregions as the co-marketed document.
 3. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to:transmit an electronic communication to the device associated with thesecond co-marketer type, wherein the electronic communication is anotification of storing the co-marketed document.
 4. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein at least one of theplurality of regions associated with at least the first co-marketer typeis locked from editing by the second co-marketer type.
 5. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the secondco-marketer type may alter placement within the co-marketed document ofthe at least one of the plurality of regions associated with at leastthe first co-marketer type.
 6. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to: automaticallypopulate a region of the template with a data item from the data set,wherein the region is designated for a membership of the firstco-marketer type and wherein the data item is representation for themembership of the first co-marketer type.
 7. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein at least one of theplurality of regions associated with at least the first co-marketer typeis designated for a legal disclaimer.
 8. A system comprising: at leastone processor; and memory including instructions that, when executed bythe at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: receivean identification for a template of a co-marketed document layout; loadthe template, wherein the template includes a plurality of regionsassociated with at least a first co-marketer type and a plurality ofregions associated with at least a second co-marketer type; receive acredential for a user, wherein the credential identifies the user as thefirst co-marketer type; receive an identification associated with anidentified data set from a plurality of data sets; populate theplurality of regions of the template associated with at least the firstco-marketer type with data items from the identified data set; store thetemplate with populated regions as a co-marketed document; determine anamount of space of the co-marketed document populated with data items ofthe first co-marketer type; calculate a percentage of total space of theco-marketed document populated with data items of the first co-marketertype; and transmit a message to a device associate with a secondco-marketer user indicating the percentage of total space of theco-marketed document populated with data items of the first co-marketertype.
 9. The system of claim 8, further comprising instructions to:receive a credential for a second user, wherein the credential for thesecond user identifies the second user as the second co-marketer type;receive a second identification associated with a second data set from aplurality of data sets; populate regions of the template associated withat least the second co-marketer type with data items from the seconddata set; and store the template with populated regions as theco-marketed document.
 10. The system of claim 8, further comprisinginstructions to: transmit an electronic communication to the deviceassociated with the second co-marketer type, wherein the electroniccommunication is a notification of storing the co-marketed document. 11.The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of regionsassociated with at least the first co-marketer type is locked fromediting by the second co-marketer type.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the second co-marketer type may alter placement within theco-marketed document of the at least one of the plurality of regionsassociated with at least the first co-marketer type.
 13. The system ofchurn 8, further comprising instructions to: automatically populate aregion of the template with a data item from the data set, wherein theregion is designated for a membership of the first co-marketer type andwherein the data item is representation for the membership of the firstco-marketer type.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of theplurality of regions associated with at least the first co-marketer typeis designated for a legal disclaimer.
 15. A method comprising: receivingan identification for a template of a co-marketed document layout;loading the template, wherein the template includes a plurality ofregions associated with at least a first co-marketer type and aplurality of regions associated with at least a second co-marketer type;receiving a credential for a user, wherein the credential identifies theuser as the first co-marketer type; receiving an identificationassociated with an identified data set from a plurality of data sets;populating the plurality of regions of the template associated with atleast the first co-marketer type with data items from the identifieddata set; storing the template with populated regions as a co-marketeddocument; determining an amount of space of the co-marketed documentpopulated with data items of the first co-marketer type; calculating apercentage of total space of the co-marketed document populated withdata items of the first co-marketer type; and transmitting a message toa device associated with a second co-marketer user indicating thepercentage of total space of the co-marketed document populated withdata items of the first co-marketer type.
 16. The method of claim 15,further comprising instructions to: receiving a credential for a seconduser, wherein the credential for the second user identifies the seconduser as the second co-marketer type; receiving a second identificationassociated with a second data set from a plurality of data sets;populating the plurality of regions of the template associated with atleast the second co-marketer type with data items from the second dataset; and storing the template with populated regions as the co-marketeddocument.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising instructionsto: automatically populating a region of the template with a data itemfrom the data set, wherein the region is designated for a membership ofthe first co-marketer type and wherein the data item is representationfor the membership of the first co-marketer type.